18. Life is not fair

Prop: packet of Smarties or similar

Hello boys and girls! I don’t suppose any of you like Smarties? You do? Well, I have a packet of them here that I am happy to share with you. Hold out your hands. [Distribute one to each child.] Now there seem to be a whole lot left over. Would anyone like some more? [This time distribute a handful to several of the children.]

Now what do you think of that? I don’t see that anyone can complain: after all, you each have at least one more Smartie than you had before! You don’t think the way I handed them out was fair? Well, yes. I understand that. But you see, life is not fair. For example, you have more than enough food to eat each day, but some children in Africa have hardly any. And you have a nice warm bed to sleep in at night. Some children have to make do with a cardboard box. You can come to church here Sunday by Sunday to learn about God and his love. Other children have to work seven days a week.

So in the world, we have some rich countries and some poor countries. Can you think of any way this situation could be improved? Yes, it would be fairer if the rich countries shared what they had with the poorer countries.

Now, some of you are ‘Smarties - rich’, and others of you are ‘Smarties - poor’. Can you think how we might make this fairer? Yes, you understand. Now, I’m not going to put anyone on the spot, but when you go back to your seats, the ‘Smarties - rich’ children might think about sharing your wealth with the other children. You might also understand why it is not quite so easy to put this idea into practice!